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American Horror Story: Freak Show Review

The fourth season of American Horror Story is Freak Show. It’s the second best after ‘Asylum’ as it’s so great in its best moments, but still uneven and rushed per usual.

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“You see, we are a troupe of entertainers.

A family.

And you will not split up our family“

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Yes, Ryan Murphy is not the best director out there. Well, what he does great, he does it amazingly as he has so many terrific ideas that he explores so well, but he really needs to cut down on his characters and subplots as this season represents everything that is superb and terrible about this show.

Yes, most of its subplots worked for me and the same goes for the characters, but because he had so many, they really made the whole season messy and incredibly rushed at only 13 episodes with such a huge cast. The addition of Neil Patrick Harris is the most egregious as he was unnecessary so late in the game and he ruined those lost couple of episodes for me, no matter how surprisingly good his performance was.

Freak Show pays homage to the classic ‘Freaks’ obviously, but still wonderfully for such a big fan as I am. I found this season’s take on serial killers chilling, and the fact that society is the biggest freak of them all. It’s also the gayest season so far by a mile, and interestingly enough, most are villains here, but great ones for sure.

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Kathy Bates is great as Ethel, but underutilized for sure, and I really did not get why Elsa killed her in that confusing sequence for me. Speaking of Elsa Mars, she’s great. At first I found her slightly boring, but still this is no waste of Jessica Lange, even though she of course had a much meatier role in ‘Coven’. I found her obsession to become an actress very well portrayed, and simply her character is immensely realistic as she is like a mother to them all, but a very condescending one as well.

Angela Bassett is reliably terrific as Desiree and very memorable. Evan Peters has never been better and he has never had a better role than Jimmy Darling. I really liked Lobster Boy as he was the most likable character of the bunch by a mile, but his relationships with everyone else are so strong across the board.

Emma Roberts is also hugely sympathetic as Maggie despite all odds and I found her failed redemption arc frustrating. She did not deserve to die so stupidly. Bette and Dott are very good, don’t get me wrong, but still these characters are the weakest so far for Sarah Poulson as their story is repetitive, though she’s as great as she always is.

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Michael Chiklis is terrific as Dell and I was so sad to see his redemption arc also cut short. He’s such a complex character as this frustrated closeted homosexual, and I found his entire story very rich and interesting that he needed more screen time for sure.

As for the big bads, Stanley is fantastic as this well-endowed gay man who is after all of the freaks for his collection. Denis O’Hare played him so well, and he’s such a delightfully villainous presence and so easy to hate that his ultimate doom was disturbing, but satisfying. As for Dandy, he’s incredibly realistic as this spoiled brat who becomes a big serial killer. He was honestly terrifying at times, and his killing spree in the final episode, though tad unrealistic, was chilling to the bone.

In the end, Freak Show is messy, rushed and flawed per usual, but it’s so well-acted, so well done technically and featuring many instantly memorable, superbly developed characters that it’s difficult not to love it despite its flaws. It’s also the most disturbing season so far undoubtedly.

Worst Episodes: Monsters Among Us and Edward Mordrake Part 1.

Best Episodes: Test of Strength and Curtain Call.

My Rating – 4